


Welcome to the Show

by blueorangecrush



Category: You Could Make a Life Series - Taylor Fitzpatrick
Genre: All-Star Game, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:34:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21981007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueorangecrush/pseuds/blueorangecrush
Summary: Jake's supposed to find Seb annoying. But he just...doesn't.
Relationships: Sebastien Boucher/Jake Lourdes, past Georgie Dineen/Jake Lourdes
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	Welcome to the Show

**Author's Note:**

  * For [timkon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/timkon/gifts).



> So what I was thinking with this is how in canon, Jake and Seb probably don't get along so well both because rivalry stuff and because they're too much alike, and by too much alike I mean both of them are TOO MUCH. And in canon, they both date people who are much quieter and more retiring - but imagine an AU in which Jake and Seb get into ridiculous one-upmanship "I LOVE YOU MORE!" shenanigans? Wouldn't that be awesome?
> 
> Sometime I might write more of this, but this is my idea of how that AU starts off.

Jake hears the guys in the room complain about Boucher a lot.

And it makes sense, the dude is the captain of their nearest rival, he wouldn’t expect everyone to be best friends, but sometimes it doesn’t seem like that’s what the complaints are really about.

Like, there are the obvious puns about how his name is basically the French for _mouth_ , and how he’s got a big mouth and should shut up once in a while about how awesome he thinks he is, and that’s fine, but when Young starts talking about what a big mouth like that is good for, Jake fights the urge to look down at the floor because that would just – it would be obvious. And he doesn’t need obvious.

He calls Allie and freaks out at her for a while about the team, about how he doesn’t want to find himself on the bad side of, well, _that._

He thinks about calling Georgie, but Georgie doesn’t need that shit from him. Just because Jake has fond memories of how good Georgie actually is at what some of the older guys were making fun of Boucher for supposedly knowing all about…doesn’t mean he needs to have a big gay “welcome to the NHL and your fancy expensive closet” freakout in that direction.

\--

The thing is, once Jake actually has to play against him? Boucher’s tough to play against, frustrating, all that. He throws checks but dances away from attempts to check him, and then he scores a hat trick and skates past the Panthers bench with his fist out for a fist-bump. And some of the guys are muttering about how he’s lucky he didn’t get his hand ripped clean off.

And honestly? Jake would rather deal with a flashy jerk than a quiet jerk. He remembers his draft day all too well, when Chapman was so sore about going second that he was just – quietly hostile to absolutely everyone.

It’s easier to be openly mocked for sucking, by the star captain of an honestly good team, than it is to have some kid who isn’t so different just quietly act like he’s better than every other player he’s stuck breathing the same air with.

\--

The first time he really talks to Boucher, or…well, gets talked at _by_ Boucher, is at All-Star Weekend. Jake’s had a good season so far, he’s the favorite for the Calder, so he’s the one that gets sent from the Panthers. And of course, Tampa sends Boucher, because he’s on track for another Rocket Richard.

The night before the game, everyone is drunk. _Everyone._ And that includes Jake, because Boucher keeps bringing him drinks. Not beer or whatever, but shots of fancy shit he’s only heard of in movies and wasn’t even sure was a real thing.

“It’s an acquired taste,” Seb – somehow he’s become Seb over the course of this night – laughs. “Like a lot of things. But between you and me, it’s _worth_ acquiring taste for the good stuff, because when you’re stuck in some miserable dive on the road you won’t want anything. You save it up for when it counts.”

Seb’s leaning in, close enough that Jake feels warmth radiating off of him, off his breath, off his arm that’s just that little bit closer than it needs to be. And Jake wonders what this is, thinks he might know what this is, it’s Georgie and World Juniors all over again – they’re some of the best they are at what they do, they’re young and they’ve got energy, so why the hell not?

Jake tilts his head, bites his lip, looks closely at Seb.

Yeah, this could be fun. He’d be down for it.

Seb shakes his head, barely noticeable.

Jake’s own head hits the table with a thud. He’s such a dumbass. He bought into the rumors, into the stupid-ass locker-room talk, and now he just has to hope that Seb’s not going to be _that_ kind of an asshole about it.

“Hey,” Seb says softly. “First of all, I think you’re cut off for now, we gotta mix in a water at the very least.”

Jake looks up, relieved that Seb looks concerned, not pissed off or – or _disgusted_ by what Jake might’ve been thinking about him.

“Think you can walk? We can have the water on the way,” Seb says quietly, casually, like he was one of Jake’s own older teammates checking in on the rookie after a bag skate. Then louder, to nobody in particular, “The future Calder winner’s had himself a night, I’m gonna walk him back to his room, make sure he doesn’t break anything on the way there.” And he throws down a bunch of cash by way of a tip, nudges Jake, and they walk out of the bar.

Once they’re safely out of earshot of players and media, Seb hands Jake a bottle of water. “You drink, I talk, got it?”

Jake nods and starts getting the water down.

“I just want us to be clear, I know a lot of your guys think I’m an asshole, but I’m not _that_ kind of asshole. I know you’ve had a lot more to drink than you’re used to, and I have a good idea of what you were thinking back there, and I can’t – I can’t take you up on it. Not like that. Not because I don’t _want_ to but – they just made me captain of the Bolts a year ago, I can’t be the kind of guy that gets a rookie drunk when he’s supposed to be too young to drink in the States and then takes him off to bed, you know?”

Jake’s face is a lot hotter than he wants it to be. Mostly because Seb’s a lot hotter than Jake wants to think about him being, and Seb’s fucking turning him down.

“Hey, I – just so we’re clear, it’s not that I’m not _interested,_ all right?”

Jake looks at Seb, confused.

“But if we’re gonna – we need to do it right. So, tonight, you drink your water and do what you gotta do to keep from showing up in the morning all hung over. And if you’re too drunk to remember any of this, or you want to pretend none of this happened and just drop it, we drop it. If you want me to take you up on this sober, you skip the bar and meet me here tomorrow and we’ll go from there. Got it?”

Jake finishes his water. “Got it,” he responds, smiling.

“Good night, Jake. Looking forward to playing on the same side of the ice for once.”


End file.
